5 food trends for 2015

Cold-pressed juiceWhat’s hot this year? More like what’s cold –cold-pressed, that is. Raw is a growing trend, but it’s pretty hard-core to eat raw in winter, or all of the time. But the theory is that to preserve the most nutrients and vitamins, fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds, are best eaten in their natural state. Bur ask anyone who’s eaten their way through a raw salad without any dressing and they’ll tell you there’s only so much roughage you can eat before getting bored. Juicing is the obvious solution, and while you lose some of the fibre you can absorb the vitamins and nutrients faster and more easily – and you can add super-powders (read on to learn more) to give an extra health boost. Most juices you buy have been heated, but cold-pressed is the new gold standard. Expect to see this prefix in all the hippest bars, cafes and brands. If you don’t have your own cold-press juicer, try ordering juices from Raw Press.

Spiralize your lifeWho knew that spiralizing would be such a massive trend? Well those clever clogs at Lakeland did, for one. Since December they’ve sold out of their spiralizers twice already “They’re literally flying off the shelves,” explains buyer Catherine. “We were actually ahead of the trend and started selling them about four years ago but we were too early so we took it out of the store. When customer requests to bring it back kept creeping up and up we knew something was happening.” And now, thanks to bloggers like Hemsley + Hemsley, whose own fancy spiralizer can be bought from Selfridge’s, and Deliciously Ella, we’re all in a bit of a spin for spiralling. Think courgette spaghetti, cucumber ribbons and carrot noodles.

Super powders
Forget vitamins and health supplements, now it’s all about super powders. Ultra powerful antioxidants, hemp protein powders that are rich in vitamin E, energising spirulina and acai, and skin-boosting, hormone-balancing maca powder, and kick-ass immune-improving, alkalising chlorella.
Add them to recipes, sprinkle them over your cereal, blend them into a smoothie or drink it like a tincture, these powders are not cheap but are the buzz-word in health at the moment.
If you want a pre-made blend, Elle MacPherson’s SuperElixir powder mixes 45 ingredients and is designed to be added to a smoothie to help heal, energise and defend your body from illness and attack.

The Paleo diet
I predict 2015 will be the year that what were once considered special dietary requirements, such as gluten and dairy-free dishes, will become not only mainstream but fashionable.
Step forward the Paleo diet, a new take on the Stone-age diet, and this year’s 5:2.
Simply put, if a caveman couldn’t eat it you can’t either. That means no dairy, refined sugar or wheat as farming did not exist at that time, but plenty of fruit, veg, nuts and seeds, leaves, eggs and meat.
The first Paleo-only restaurant, Pure Taste, opened in Notting Hill at the end of 2014 – expect to see many more menus catering for this style of eating this year.
Diet delivery company Soulmate Food launched a Paleo plan in December and it has fast-become one of their most popular plans, with the likes of Mel C and Michelle Keegan now following it.

This Cauliflour cake by Yotam Ottolenghi, from his book Plenty More, taps into the savoury baking trend (image by Jonathan Lovekin)

Savoury baking
Fans of the Great British Bake Off might well be asking “what on earth is left for them to bake next year?” after this year’s Swedish Princess cakes, Polish poppy seed Makowiec and French Kouign Amann, there can’t many obscure bakes left.Lakeland is tipping savoury bakes – think courgette cake and sun-dried tomato and basil muffins – breads and pies as the next direction for baking this year, and is launching a range of savoury essences and oils accordingly.
And since we’re all giving up refined sugar anyway this year (yet another big trend – swap to agave syrup, maple, honey and dates for healthier alternatives), this is one baking trend we can actually eat!

ALISON TYLER

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